Three Trends The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 Should Break
The Legend of Zelda has turned 35, and as one of the most beloved fantasy game franchises, it deserves to celebrate in style. Nintendo’s going a little light on the festivities: they just released an HD remake of The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword today, and the sequel to Breath of the Wild is coming… some time.
Breath of the Wild changed the game in a lot of ways: no more traditional dungeons, all weapons were now temporary, and the game itself had no linear blocks. Once you finish the tutorial, you go anywhere at any time. With a brand new game on the horizon, I thought about some of the classic Zelda trends that I wouldn’t mind them breaking. Here are my top three, in no particular order.
Give Link a Personality: Nintendo characters aren’t exactly known for their intricate internal conflicts. In fact, when I teach flat vs. round characters in class, Link is one of my go-to examples. Link is basically what the internet once called an AFGNCAAP: an Ageless, Faceless, Gender-Neutral, Culturally-Ambiguous Adventure Person. He looks both masculine and feminine, and no particular age, and he has no particular opinions whatsoever. This makes it easy for anyone playing the game to imagine themselves as Link, but it’s been 35 years, and we have essentially no information on Link’s likes or dislikes in basically any game he’s been in. Recovering his memories was a fun part of Breath of the Wild to flesh out backstory. This time, I hope Nintendo includes some more memory flashbacks that can make Link a little more three-dimensional.
Let Zelda Be an Active Participant: The internet heaved a collective sigh when we watched that trailer up there and Zelda apparently fell down a dark hole, probably in the first fifteen minutes of the new game, probably to be held captive by Ganon for the rest of the game. In her thirty-five years, Zelda has been a damsel in distress, a ninja, a pirate, a spirit, and a Lady-Not-Appearing-in-this-Game, but very rarely has she been a partner. The closest we got was in Spirit Tracks for the Nintendo DS, where Zelda could possess suits of armor to help Link through dungeons. That was fun! Even if, you know, the rest of the game wasn’t great. So please, Nintendo, let Zelda DO things. I’m sure giving her all of Link’s tools and moves would be expensive, but I’m not even asking for that much. Take a page out of Ratchet and Clank’s book and give Zelda specific levels all to herself that play to her strengths: wisdom, puzzles, and magic.
Starting from Scratch: If you take away my Master Sword and Champions’ blessings, so help me Hylia, you will have hell to pay.